GOPHER RECORDS

I am extra pleased with the 299 page Civil War Pension File on Gerhard Heinrich Plogsterdt! Fabulous! Since his widow, Louisa Wilhelmine nee Kassebaum, filed a Widow’s Pension on him, her 2nd husband (915.187), AND on her 1st husband, Heinrich Wilhelm Wiesehan (526.056), it was all in one file as well as Plogsterdt’s self-filed pension (904.779 and certificate 896.203) and was a wealth of genealogical information! This has answered many questions that I had and most significantly it helped me break through a brick wall with documentation for my 2nd Great Grandfather’s Mother: Anna Maria Becker (Baecker). Louisa got a copy of her step-son’s baptism in 1891 and sent it as part of the Pension Application. This document shows Christian Wilhelm Wiesehan (my 2nd Great Grandfather) born 1 January 1862 and baptized 27 April 1862 and that he was the son of Heinrich Wm. Wiesehan and Anna Maria nee Baecker (Becker)!!! I finally knew his Mother’s name! This enabled me to find her marriage record to my 3rd Great Grandfather, Heinrich Wilhelm Wiesehan on Ancestry.com. I had not been able to find it previously because Wiesehan was transcribed wrong as Wiesekann. But now I knew HER name. From Affidavits of Louisa’s friends and neighbors I found out that Anna Maria Becker died of Small Pox when my 2nd Great Grandfather was only 2 years old. All of the Affidavits from the claimants, relatives, neighbors, friends, ministers, courts, cemeteries, etc. are so interesting to read and so informative giving me knowledge I didn’t have before getting the Pension Files. I found out that my 3rd Great Grandfather and his family moved back to Peoria, IL from St. Louis, MO and he died of Tuberculosis there and the family moved back to St. Louis and Louisa remarried to Plogsterdt. Even though her pension application was denied it was so full of documents and information. I feel like I know so much more about the daily lives of my ancestors. Gopher Records was super speedy (less than 2 weeks) retrieving records and was very affordable. If your ancestor filed an application for a Civil War Pension, whether a soldier, minor child or widow, I highly recommend that you use Gopher Records to retrieve the Pension File and you may hit the jackpot like I did and break through a brick wall!